A judge for the 18th Judicial District Court in Colorado denied three motions in the case between Bill Bowlen and the trustees running the Denver Broncos, all of which could land the case on a dual path in the court and in the hands of the NFL.

The trustees, amid many court filings over the last five months, filed a motion to dismiss. That was denied by Judge Charles M. Pratt, allowing it to proceed in the court.

But Pratt also ruled on two other motions filed by Bowlen that are central to the case and the separate ownership dispute.

He denied Bowlen’s motion to stay arbitration, which means the issue of control of the Broncos and Pat Bowlen’s succession plan could likely be heard by the NFL while Bill Bowlen’s allegations of the trustees and their management of the Pat Bowlen Trust are addressed in court.

Bill Bowlen had argued that because he is not a team or league employee and no longer owns a piece of the team, he cannot be...